Life

How They Train: Intrepid Age-Grouper and Triathlon Coach Duane Franks

It took a while for Duane Franks to get back to the Hawaii Ironman and challenge his personal best. He did it with resounding authority, which he’s putting in gear for the first edition of Ironman Coeur d’Alene.

Lining up for the 1999 Hawaii Ironman, Duane Franks, like many of the triathletes awaiting the punch of the start cannon, was out to break his personal best for Hawaii and the Ironman distance. His sixth Ironman competition, Duane’s intention was to prove to himself and to those he coaches in the California Bay Area that---with the right attitude---turning 40 was an opportunity to get stronger and faster, rather than a signal to slow down.

What made his attempt particularly intriguing was that Franks had set this PR for Hawaii not in 1998 or 1997, but in 1982. In 1982, Franks was 23 years old and finished in 12:32.

In 1999 Franks trampled over any drama possible in a sprint-to-the-finish line dash to break 12:32, because when he powered down Ali’i Drive, the clock was ticking well below 11 hours. Franks’ new PR was 10:09. "There’d been a monkey on my back for more than 15 years," he remarks. Where, in the past, his Ironman efforts had showcased sterling bike splits, clocking around 5:50 or faster, his marathons had collapsed under the weight of the burgeoning monkey. Five and half hour marathons were the norm. In 1999, he covered 26.2 miles more in the territory of three and half hours.

In the long intermission between 1982 and 1999, Franks had not taken much of a vacation from multisport. He had also raced Hawaii in 1983 and 1984, long and heralded triathlons like the World’s Toughest and the Nice Triathlon, and competed in so many triathlons of every distance he’s not really sure how many he’s done. "I lost count after 10 years, at about 250," he says. Franks is also a charter member of the Golden Gate Triathlon Club, a San Francisco training and racing team that he helped create and build back in the early 1990s.

In the last few years Franks had woven his experience together with his rich background in exercise physiology (he studied P.E. at California Polytechnic and has been in the fitness field ever since) to get back into triathlon coaching. He has been guiding the development of a group of local triathletes, including age-group standout Jeri Howland. Franks employs a focus on "core" strength training, an approach he used well before terms like ‘core strength’ and ‘functional training’ became the current buzz. Clearly the accumulation of knowledge and experience helped him crush his 1982 Hawaii P.R. "Back then," says Franks, "none of us knew what we were doing."

In his assault on the 1999 target, Franks had to pull from every page of his book. He failed to qualify at Wildflower, Keauhou, and Vineman half-Ironmans, missing them all by single slots. Forced into the Holy Grail corner, he wound up at Ironman Canada where he won his age-group and slot handily, despite having to walk the last six miles of the marathon. "That’s what saved me," explained Franks. "Seven weeks is not a lot of time to recover for Hawaii, but the walking saved me. I was recovered in a week."

Franks currently works as a director at the Western Athletic Club in Marin, and is in preparation for this year’s Ironman Coeur d’Alene in Idaho this coming June 29. To get some insight into how Franks trains himself and his athletes, here is a detailed sample from his log book in an ironman build-up.

Sample of Duane Frank’s Ironman Training Build-up

Monday - strength training & bike45 minutes of strength training in gym followed with 20 minutes of total body stretching. Strength exercises include a combination of original triathlete sport-specific exercises along with some traditional large group exercises.

Wednesday - Bike and Strength sessionBike - 90 minutes with one climb of approx. 55 minutes or a series of hills to total 50-60 minutes. After the initial warm-up increase effort to low aerobic for the first 20 minutes. Increase to mid aerobic for the next 20 minutes and alternate sitting and spinning with standing and spinning. Increase to upper aerobic for 10 minutes and progress to low AT/LT for the final 5 minutes while standing.

Strength session - same as Monday

Thursday - swim & runswim 3000 yards in a nearly continuous pyramid with only 2-3 seconds to check the pace clock. The goal is to negative split on the back side of the pyramid by approx. 5 seconds per 100. Swim the first couple intervals as easy warm-up and the final 100 as the cool down.100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 500, 400, 300, 200, 100

Short transition to run - run 75 minutes building as follows:10 minutes easy recovery20 minutes at low aerobic20 minutes at mid aerobic20 minutes at upper aerobic5 minutes easy cool down

Sunday - Run 90-100 minute trail run with hills. Maintain recovery to low aerobic on the flats and no higher than upper aerobic on the hills.Monday- Complete restYou may contact T.J. Murphy at Originally posted to ironmanlive.com on 04/24/2003 02:39pm by T.J. Murphy.